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Tuesday, September 3, 2013
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IN BRIEF
Mottisfont’s
gilded tree
INTERNATIONAL artist
Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva is
installing a gilded tree at a
National Trust site in
Hampshire.
The tree will be installed
in a circle of beech trees at
Mottisfont in Romsey as
part of the artSOUTH
exhibition on Saturday.
The work aims to celebrate
the beauty of the living
trees as well as the cycle of
growth and decay by
utilising fallen tress, which
would otherwise break
down and disappear
unnoticed.
The installation is taking
place at 10am.
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SPECIAL DAILY ECHO INVESTIGATION
IS STRESS CRIPPLING
EXCLUSIVE
Jenny
Makin
RISING numbers of
police officers and staff
in Hampshire are going
off sick with stressrelated illnesses, the
Daily Echo can reveal.
More and more people through
all ranks are cracking under the
pressure as workloads mount
while numbers of people are
slashed in a bid to save money,
with many being signed off long
term.
Constabulary bosses admit
they are “concerned” as they
face ending the year with the
highest rates of sickness since
2010 and say a number of measures have and continue to be put
in place to help the 5,600-strong
workforce.
The police and crime commissioner (PCC) is also so alarmed
he has levelled questions at the
chief constable while the police
federation, representing rank
and file officers, have demanded
the force “pull their socks up” to
tackle the issue.
Conkers
competition
THE seasonal game of
conkers will be enjoyed at a
competition this October.
The challenge will take
place at Holly Hill
Woodland Park, Barnes
Lane, Sarisbury Green, on
October 19.
Conkers will be supplied
and the champion wins a
coveted trophy.
The competition starts at
2pm and admission is 50p.
Open day
FAREHAM fire station is
having an open day on
September 7.
People can visit between
10am and 4pm and look
around the station at
Station Approach, Fareham.
For more information, call
01329 823468.
dailyecho.co.uk
DAILY ECHO
DEMANDING: Hampshire police attend a
serious road traffic accident.
As workloads soar
more are going sick
The figures, obtained as part of
he’s already admitted more jobs
a Daily Echo investigation, can will have to go.
be revealed today – just weeks
But
could
the
cost
to
after we told how Hampshire Hampshire’s force be more than
Constabulary, which has already just monetary in the end?
shaved a staggering £55m from
Sources tell of an occupational
its budget, is facing further cuts
health department that is seriof £25m. Over a
ously overstretched
period of seven
and
underyears, it will have
resourced,
police
made savings of
officers and staff
£80m by shaving off
struggling to take
hundreds of jobs,
leave because there
selling off buildis no resilience to
ings and closing
cover duties, people
stations.
off on long term sick
They show how
say there is a lack of
in under eight
support and some
months a total of
workers have cited
more than 210 offithat their health and
cers and staff
wellbeing is suffering
have been off sick
as more is put upon
CHALLENGES:
with stress and if
them.
numbers continue Hampshire Police chief Hampshire
police
at the same rate it constable Andy Marsh. bosses however insist
will hit more than
they are doing what
360 by the end of the year.
they can, having held stress
It is a tough time for chief con- workshops for those who faced
stable Andy Marsh, whose job it
redundancy under the “force
is to implement the savings, and change” programme, risk assessing particularly stressful roles
like tackling child abuse and
dealing with road accidents and
psychologically screening officers before they are posted to a
role.
They also plan to send a health
bus to police stations across the
county in coming months so that
officers and staff can seek advice
and get a simple health check
During the past three years a total
of 60 people have been medically
retired from the force – five of them
on the grounds of suffering from a
stress-related illness
‘Police officers are burning out’
OFFICERS are burning
out.
They are the words of
Hampshire Police
Federation chairman
John Apter who first
warned two years ago
that mammoth cuts and
job losses would come at
a cost to the force.
But while crime is continuing to fall and intensive policing of serious
incidents is maintained, falling
officer
numbers
means
more
work
and more
pressure for
those on the
frontline.
Mr Apter said: “I say it with a
heavy heart that I warned that
something would happen with
such drastic cuts and sadly it is
the health and wellbeing of our
officers. They are being pushed
“
WARNING:
Police federation chairman
John Apter.
impact is being felt.
“We are hearing of dramatic
changes to duties and officers
being deployed to the homes of
their colleagues to warn them
they are being recalled to duty
on overtime – something they
cannot refuse.
“It’s happening more and
more. Many are nearing
breaking point and some are
already there. People are
burning out.
He added: “On the positive
side, the force appears to be
waking up to this and I am
pleased to hear of some of
the initiatives, but the reality
is there are not enough police
officers to do what is
required of them.
“Just because they wear uniform and carry a warrant card
does not mean they are robots.”
Just because
they wear a
uniform does not
mean they are
robots
so far on such low numbers and
with little back office support
that they are the ones who are
suffering and that is where the
DAILY ECHO
9
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
News
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SPECIAL DAILY ECHO INVESTIGATION
OUR POLICE FORCE?
Monday, August 12,
2013
65p
SEE
SPORT
ILED
BOOMTOWN HASP
ITE
A SUCCESS DE ATH
TEENAGER’S DE
southerndailyecho
SAINTS ACE
SHAW IN
INJURY
SCARE
LATEST CUTBACKS
@dailyecho
SEE 3,
PAGES
7
26&2
COU
E JOB LOSSES
LD RESULT IN MOR
Nursery
duo are
accused
of £950K
fraud
Why was
killer let
out for
walks on
his own?
EXCLUSIVE Jenny Makin
must
make
police
HAMPSHIRE
of cuts, the chief
another £25mrevealed.
Daily Echo,
constable has
the
interview with
force has
In an exclusive
told how the countygrant from
Andy Marsh has
lower than expecteda black hole
been hit with a
with
that has left it
the Government
in the budget.
It will mean more
job losses, sharing
rid
services, getting
of more buildings
and a rise in council tax bills.
top
This comes on
of £55m savings
at a
already made
cost of 400 jobs.
n Full story see 6&7
PAGE 3
Chief Constable
Andy Marsh.
Thousand
turn ou
for cycling
action
PAGES 14&15
Daily Echo, August 12.
t: 023 8042 4520
e: jenny.makin@
dailyecho.co.uk
‘Thousands
of teenagers
are bullied’
Patient
remanded to
mental unit
PAGE 9
CONTACT JENNY MAKIN
IN BRIEF
THOUSANDS of teenagers
across the south east could
be suffering from the effects
of bullying.
More than one third of
teens have been bullied or
picked on for the way they
look, according to research
released today and girls
aged 12 to 18 are most likely
to fall prey to bullies.
The study by Dairy UK’s
Make Mine Milk campaign
and anti-bullying charity
BeatBullying also revealed
that 36 per cent of teenage
girls have been on a diet and
more than one in ten of 12
to 14-year-old girls are
permanently on a diet.
Teenagers can seek help
by calling 020 8771 3377 or
visiting beatbullying.org.
TOUGH JOB:
More is being
demanded of
our police
officers than
ever before.
while at work.
Nicky Cornelius, force director of
HR and corporate services, said: “It’s
difficult to say if it’s work related
stress or other factors, but certainly
we have seen an increase in stress
related illness over the past year.
It’s not always about work, it can be
complex and involve personal and
relationship issues.”
She told how occupational health
workers talking to those affected
have reported back that key issues
surround workload, relationship
issues and conflict with line managers and that stress was being felt
at “all levels” of the force, with officers of all ranks becoming ill.
Ms Cornelius added: “Absolutely
we are concerned about the impact
on individuals and staff and we are
working closely with support from
HR and occupational health to engage
with people from a very early stage.”
She pointed to the introduction of
news
new technology like mobile data systems, which enable officers to work
more efficiently on the ground rather
than spending time travelling back
and forth from the station, as well as
slashing time spent filling in forms.
sickness levels were part of his election pledge.
He said: “I have asked the chief constable questions on this and he tells
me work is being carried out to
reduce stress levels. I think the
important thing is not to
look at the force as a
STRESS RELATED SICKNESS RATES IN
whole, but to look at
HAMPSHIRE CONSTABULARY
each department and
each section of the busiYEAR:
POLICE
POLICE
TOTAL
ness to identify if stress
OFFICERS
STAFF
is more of an issue in
one area than another.
2011
164
163
327
“I think that what
2012
174
181
355
broadly is the cause is
2013 (to date) 119
92
361
that we are asking police
(predicted by officers to do more than
end of year) they used to do both in
terms of intensity and
breadth of work. More is
And she insisted that implementing being put on and expected of peojoint working and sharing services ple.
with Thames Valley police, and plans
“We have been successto merge more services with ful in reducing crime,
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, reducing costs and
were aimed at reducing pressure – not
dealing with a high
adding to it.
level of intense
But the arrival of a police and crime crime requiring
commissioner, the force is also find- intensive policing
ing itself under scrutiny from PCC
but all that comes
Simon Hayes whose concerns about at a cost.”
CONCERNED: Force director of
HR and corporate services
Nicky Cornelius, below.
A MENTAL health patient,
who struck a nurse with a
china cup, causing a cut to
his head and arm, has been
further remanded to a
Hampshire psychiatric unit.
David Baker, 27, of no
fixed abode, admitted
causing grievous bodily
harm and two psychiatrists
have written reports
recommending he should
continue to receive
treatment in the unit at
Knowle Hospital.
Now one must attend
Southampton Crown Court
to give evidence and Baker
had his case adjourned
until September 23.